Person
Simons, William Vazie (Vazie) (c. 1825 - 1897)
- Born
- c. 1825
Dublin, Ireland - Died
- 16 May 1897
Camberwell, United Kingdom - Occupation
- Analytical chemist
Summary
Vazie Simons was an analytical chemist who came to Victoria in 1853 and settled in the Sandhurst (Bendigo) area. He became involved in local community activities, including being Mayor of the local council. In 1860 he returned to the United Kingdom. While there he acquired at auction several 100 minerals from the collection of Thomas Thomson, Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow from 1818 to 1852. Simons brought this collection with him when he returned to Victoria in 1862. It was displayed at an exhibition of gems at the Royal Society of Victoria in 1865. The collection was subsequently acquired by the Victorian government for £100, initially for the museum of the Mining Department. It was transferred to the Industrial and Technological Museum, and ultimately to the National Museum of Victoria in 1899 and 1901.
Details
Chronology
- 1847
- Career event - Established paint manufacturing business in Glasgow
- 1853
- Life event - Arrived in Victoria
- 1856
- Career event - Elected to local council, Municipality of Sandhurst
- 1858
- Career position - Commissioner, Royal Commission to inquire into the best method of removing sludge from the goldfields
- 1858 - 1859
- Career position - Chairman of council, Municipality of Sandhurst
- 1859
- Career position - Member, Provisional Committee, Bendigo Agricultural and Horticultural Society
- March 1860
- Life event - Returned to United Kingdom
- 1861
- Career event - Elected Member, Chemical Society of London
- 1862
- Career event - Acquired mineralogical collection of Thomas Thomson
- December 1862
- Lecture - Returned to Victoria
- February 1863 - October 1863
- Career position - Manager, Royal Polytechnic Institute
- October 1863 - ?
- Career position - Manager, Aerated Bread Company
- 1864 - 1868?
- Career position - Partner (later sole proprietor) in Alexander Fox & Co. photographers
- 1868
- Life event - Returned to the United Kingdom
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Simons, W. Vazie, A catalogue of foreign minerals in the possession of the Mining Department, Melbourne, Victoria (Melbourne: Government Printer, 1866), 74 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Birch, William D. and Darragh, Thomas A., 'The Thomas Thomson mineral collection: its fortuitous journey from Glasgow to Melbourne via London', Australian journal of mineralogy, 26 (1) (2025), 13-36. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 7 August 2025